Photolettering apparatus

ABSTRACT

A device to provide visual composing of photolettering which includes a photoluminescent flexible film and a separate sensitized material and means to synchronously and simultaneously create an image on both the film and material and to move the film and material to adjust the position of successive characters in use. By means of a beam-splitter mirror, there is simultaneously projected an identical image onto the film and sensitized material. A dual light source is included which selectively provides: (1) a composing light, insufficient in energy or of such spectral frequency that it is incapable of energizing either the photoluminescent material or the sensitized material, which is used to visually position a new character to be imaged in desired relationship to the previously projected and exposed character; and (2) after the desired composition is attained, a light of sufficient energy and spectral frequency (a) to cause a luminescent image to appear on the photoluminescent material and (b) to expose the sensitized material. The image is then used in conjunction with the new character for composition.

UHEEKQ J States Patent 1 1 Sigman 1 Nov.6,1973

l 54 l PHOTOLETTERING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Theodore Sigman, PO. Box 383 Ojus Branch, Miami, Fla. 33163 22 Filed: Apr. 24, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 247,035

3,060,796 10/1962 Muse 355/71 3,292,486 12/1966 Mey 355/4 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 398,469 1931 Great Britain 95/4.5

Primary Examiner-John M. Horan Atl0rneyJohn Cyril Malloy [57] ABSTRACT A device to provide visual composing of photolettering which includes a photoluminescent flexible film and a separate sensitized material and means to synchronously and simultaneously create an image on both the film and material and to move the film and material to adjust the position of successive characters in use. By means of a beam-splitter mirror, there is simultaneously projected an identical image onto the film and sensitized material. A dual light source is included which selectively provides: (1) a composing light, insufficient in energy or of such spectral frequency that it is incapable of energizing either the photoluminescent material or the sensitized material, which is used to visually position a new character to be imaged in desired relationship to the previously projected and exposed character; and (2) after the desired composition is attained, a light of sufficient energy and spectral frequency (a) to cause a luminescent image to appear on the photoluminescent material and (b) to expose the sensitized material. The image is then used in conjunction with the new character for composition,

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDuov ems I 37691384 saw 101? 3' PATENIEUNnv sum 3.769.884

SHEET 2UP 3 PATENTEBIuv ems 3,789,884

SHEET 3UF 3 IiEJj 1c PHO'IOLETTERING AI.PAREPJIUSv FIELD OF-TI-IE' INVENTION This invention relates. to a photoletteringapparatus for use in visual composing.

BACKGROUND OFTHE'INVENTION Existing headline photoletteringequipment is of three basic types; blind operating, computer controlled, or visual. The blindoperatingtypes give theoperator no control over ke rning, and, therefore, are of little importance to the professional graphic-arts market. The computer-controlled equipment is. largely used forbody copy, but is too expensive for general headline use, and doesnt permit-creativecomposition. One approach to. visual composition. i:s:found in the type of apparatus which projects the exposed image onto a photoluminescent displaytube: Thisztype isincapable of true visual composition, however, because-the:

relationship of the new character to'the .just exposed character'cannot bedemonstrated tothe operator.

Friedel, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,080,802; employs a method for visual compositionwhichcomprises exposure of the character through'a liquidldeveloper layer which raises a-visible character on thesensitized material. The material is then shifted, and the new characteris located in desired relationship 'to :the first. Location of the new character is achievedzby use of alightsource.

incapable-of exposing. the sensitized material. The'operator views the images on the sensitized material through a hooded slot. This methodiis: slow, requires induction time fortheimageto appearon the-sensitized material and time forreduction'of the image to a usable black density; necessitates manipulationofwet'chemical solutions in the composing'area; limits theoperator' to-short stripsof copy whichmust be cutandrun' into wet fixer trays adjacent to the equipment; Long, continuous strips of copy cannot b'eprocessed.

The hereindescribed invention-provides fortruevisual composing, requires: no computerized control,

doubles the speed and overcomes theaforementionedi disadvantages of -the'wet-developer visuall composing;

system.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide an improved photolettering apparatus in-which'the operator is not required tooperate-blind', that is, w here'the operator cannot see the result ofhis work; so that, for example, if his'attention'is called 'away, heis apt to forgetiexactlywhere-he was and cannot, therefore, readily space the characters of the composition accurately.

It is another object of this invention toprovide an improved photolettering apparatus in which the-productlight means which is'visible', and a second light-means which produces light in the ultra-violetor. near ultraviolet spectral frequency range, is split by the beamsplitter mirror so that the beam components are adaptedv to be selectively usedand simultaneously directedxonto a pair of light responsive members, one of whichisof photoluminescent material and the other of which is of photosensitive material.

It is another object of this invention to providean improvedphototypographic device of the type described inwhichthe light source includes a dichroic mirror between two light means of a dual light source, one of the light meansbeingadapted to emit visible light and the other of said light means being adapted to emit ultraviolet ornear ultraviolet frequency range light and in which there is included a condenser lens-in the optical system to focus toward a field lens in the optical system.

It isan alternative object of this invention to provide a phototypographic device of the type described wherein the light source includes a single source of broadspectral energy and a filter means in the beam of said broad spectral light source which includes two portions, a first portion to transmit visible light and a second portion to transmit near ultraviolet or ultraviolet light'and which includes means to selectively move the portions of thefilter into and out of said light beam.

In accordance with these and other objects which will be apparent in view of the .followingdescription, the instant invention will now be described'with-reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. lis arview in cross section illustrating the invention;

FIG. 2. is'a side elevational view of that portionof FIG. 1 with the arrowed line 22..therearound;.

FIG. Sis a view illustrating the photoluminescent'materialdesignatedby the numeral 1.1 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4. is a.schematic view illustratingthe operation of the device in reference to the embodiment shown'in FIG. 1..

FIG. 5 is apartial schematicview of the light source and a filter: of an alternative embodiment referred to more fully hereinafter;

FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of the instant invention.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there. is shown in' FIG. 1,

' a preferred'embodiment of the invention. It includes a housing orv frame 102 encasing. the apparatus and in which'there. is provided a-.viewing opening, which may be spanned by transparent glass or the like, 103.

The opticalpath'of: this embodiment of'the invention will be d'escribedi It includes an energizing. dual light source, generally designatedby thenumeral 104,,which. in the embodiment shown includesan. energizing light means 1-, andcomposing light means 2', which are arranged and supportedin the: indicated location relative to adichroic mirror 3, within a structure 106' inv which there isan aperture10'5' through whichthelight-is directed, in amanner to be described; Whilethe composingand energizing light sources are shownas two sepa-.- rate elements, other means, such as a. filter for-obtaining theeffect ofdual light energy levels or spectral frequency levels may be used, as is well known" to those skilled'in'the art. Optional optical diffuser 4', which'may be supported on the housing. 106, is provided. in: the

light source beam. The diffuser is shown" in relation to condenser lens elements 5-of theoptical system which focus the light upon a conventional film font 6 controlled and rotatably supported in a suitable manner, such as by the brace 107, the film font being the optical object in the lens system 108.

The film font 6 is a disc or reel containing alpha numeric characters or other desired designs in negative or positive form, as is well known in the art. The light passes through the font and is focused by field lens 7 of the optical system structure indicated by the numeral 108, the details of which may be varied to suit the particular design preference employed for the invention. The light beam is further directed from the field lens to abeam-splitter 8, a mirror of the type well known in the art, which reflects a portion of light beamed upon it and, also, transmits a portion. The reflected portion carrying the object information is directed onto sensitized material 9, where it appears as an image of the object character on the font. The transmitted portion, also carrying the object information, passes through the beam-splitter 8 to a mirror 10 which, in this particular embodiment which reflects the light onto a photoluminescent film 11 suitably supported as at 109 by the housing, where it appears as an image of the object character on the font. The lengths of the optical path a, the distance between the beam-splitter 8 and the sensitized material 9, is equal to the length b plus 0, which is the total length of the path from the beam-splitter 8 to the mirror 10, to the photoluminescent film 11.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensitized material 9 is of conventional film form and is located in the image plane and is adapted to be driven in a conventional manner by sprocket wheels 121, 123, 125 and 127 in a forward or backward direction by means of a drive gear 12 or other suitable means, the drive gear being, in the preferred embodiment driven by an electric. rnotor, not shown, which turns the shaft means 111. The sensitized material is stored in a magazine of conventional design indicated by the numeral 129. The motion of the sensitized material 9 is translated directly to the drive gear 13, which controls the motion of the photoluminescent endless belt of film 11, preferably by means of the flexible cable 14, or other suitable means for translation of motion. The motion of the sensitized material is simultaneous with and in the same degree as that of the photoluminescent film 11, preferably duplicating the same or being related thereto sufficiently so as to provide the operator with the visual image required, as will be more fully apparent from the full description of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dual light source comprises two light means of spectral frequency and energy; (a) a composing light 2, which emits energy in the visible spectrum, but is deficient in ultraviolet or nearultraviolet energy, and (b) an energizing light which emits light with a large component in the ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet frequency range. The composing light 2 is for the purpose of projecting upon the photoluminescent film 11, and, incidentally upon the sensitized photoluminescent screen. The operator may then select the next desired character by movement, as by rotation of the font 6, projecting the image of the new character upon photoluminescent screen 11 by means of the composing light 2. The image will appear superimposed over the glowing first image. Movement of the sensitized material 9, through rotation of drive gears 12 will cause the photoluminescent film 11 to move relative to the newly composed image because of mechanical link 14 driving gears 13. The operator may then space the new image in the exactly desired relationship to the first character by forward or backward movement of sensitized material 9, visually observing the spacing on photoluminescent material 1 1, between the glowing first image, and the new character projected by the composing light.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a dichroic mirror 3 is used to reflect the composing light from its yellowreflection surface, and its blue transmittingsurface is used to transmit the energizing light. The dichroic mirror 3 is placed between, and in a 45 relationship to, the optical rays proceeding from either light source. Although a dichroic mirror is shown in this embodiment, it is clear that other suitable means may be used for effecting the desired selection of light energy and frequency, such as band-pass filters in the desired spectral frequency range.

Reference to FIG. 6 illustrates in schematic form the apparatus illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 utilizing the mirror 10 arranged in the optical path, the beam-splitter 8 and the field lens 7 together with the other portions of the opticalsystem. In summary,the operation of the invention is seen to be as follows: Composing light 2 of desired energy and spectral frequency is focused by condenser lenses 5 onto the object font character 6. Diffusers 4 and heat glass, common to the art, may be used. The information-bearing light is focused by field lens 7 onto both sensitized material 9 and photoluminescent material 11 by means of beam-splitter 8. The operator observes the object character on the photoluminescent film 11 and exposes the sensitized material by flashing energizing light 1. The energizing light simultaneously causes the image character to glow upon the photoluminescent film 11. The operator selects the new object character on font 6, which is then superimposed on the glowing image character on photoluminescent film 11. The operator selects the desired spacing between the two characters by movement of sensitized material 9, which causes an exact movement of the photoluminescent film 11, thereby illustrating the spacing between the glowing image and the newly composed character.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment is shown of the dual light source, comprising a light means 15, of broad spectral frequency range, including the nearultraviolet, is located behind a filter disc 16. While composing, a yellow filter 17 with sufficient neutral density to attentuate the light intensity to the desired level is positioned in the optical path. For energizing and exposure, the disc is rotated to a clear position 18, which may contain an ultraviolet transmitting filter if desired.

As an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the arrangement as shown in FIG. 6 may be utilized, wherein a translucent photoluminescent film 19 is shown in place ofthe usual opaque photoluminescent film 11, of the embodiment of FIG. 1. The optical path up to the beam-splitter 8 is similar to that shown heretofore. Since the photoluminescent film 19 is translucent, the image is transmitted through the beam-splitter 8 and is displayed directly upon the photoluminescent film 19. The length of the path a from the beam-splitter 8 to the sensitized material 9 is equal to the path b from the beam-splitter 8 to the photoluminescent film object plane 20. This feature permits elimination of mirror 10 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and simplifies the mechanism between the sensitized materials and the photoluminescent film drives. As shown in FIG. 5, a simple bevel gear 21 may be used.

What is claimed is:

1. In a phototypographic device including a frame,

the improvement which comprises:

an aligned optical system supported on said frame and including a dual light source at one end and a lens system including a field lens with an intermediate image-bearing means intermediate the light source and field lens,

a beam-splitter means in the light beam path of said optical system, to break a light beam from the light source transmitted through the optical system into a transmitted component and a reflected component,

said light source comprising a lightmeans to produce visible light and to produce light in the ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet spectral frequency range,

means supporting said light source for directing a beam through said optical system,

means suporting said beam-splitter means across the axis of said optical system to transmit a component and to reflect a component of the light beam from said light source,

a member arranged across each component and each of said members comprising means responsive to a light from said source to create an image thereon; and

one of said members being of photoluminescent material and the other of said members being of photosensitive material,

2. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light source includes a first light means to produce visible light and a second light means to produce light in the ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet range, and said beam-splitter means is supported in angular relation with respect to the axis of said optical system, and a dichroic mirror intermediate the said first and second light means.

3. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said optical system includes a condenser lens system intermediate the light source and the field lens.

4. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said photosensitive member is in the reflective component of said beam-splitter mirror and said photoluminescent material is in the transmitted component of said beam-splitter mirror.

5. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein a mirror is arranged in the transmitted component to reflect the transmitted component onto one of said members responsive to a beam of light.

6. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said members is the photoluminescent member.

7. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light source includes a single source of broad spectral energy, filter means in the beam of said broad'spectrum light source, said filter including two portions, a first portion to transmit visible light and a second portion to transmit near-ultraviolet and ultraviolet light, and means to move the portions of said filter into and out of said light beam. 

1. In a phototypographic device including a frame, the improvement which comprises: an aligned optical system supported on said frame and including a dual light source at one end and a lens system including a field lens with an intermediate image-bearing means intermediate the light source and field lens, a beam-splitter means in the light beam path of said optical system, to break a light beam from the light source transmitted through the optical system into a transmitted component and a reflected component, said light source comprising a light means to produce visible light and to produce light in the ultraviolet or nearultraviolet spectral frequency range, means supporting said light source for directing a beam through said optical system, means suporting said beam-splitter means across the axis of said optical system to transmit a component and to reflect a component of the light beam from said light source, a member arranged across each component and each of said members comprising means responsive to a light from said source to create an image thereon; and one of said members being of photoluminescent material and the other of said members being of photosensitive material,
 2. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light source includes a first light means to produce visible light and a second light means to produce light in the ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet range, and said beam-splitter means is supported in angular relation with respect to the axis of said optical system, and a dichroic mirror intermediate the said first and second light means.
 3. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said optical system includes a condenser lens system intermediate the light source and the field lens.
 4. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said photosensitive member is in the reflective component of said beam-splitter mirror and said photoluminescent material is in the transmitted component of said beam-splitter mirror.
 5. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein a mirror is arranged in the transmitted component to reflect the transmitted component onto one of said members responsive to a beam of light.
 6. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said members is the photoluminescent member.
 7. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light source includes a single source of broad spectral energy, filter means in the beam of said broad spectrum light source, said filter including two portions, a first portion to transmit visible light and a second portion to transmit near-ultraviolet and ultraviolet light, and means to move the portions of said filter into and out of said light beam. 